NCIS: Not Without Him
by jtbwriter
Summary: When Gibbs, Kate and Abby are kidnapped by someone they know and trust, they trust in their abilities and team to survive. Minor spoiler for "Meat Puzzle".
1. Default Chapter

NCIS: Not Without Him

Done in response to the NCIS Special Ops May Challenge, and inspired by viewers like you! (I think I may have seen one too many PBS Pledge Breaks!)

("NCIS" and all characters are owned by DPB and Bellisarius Productions, and are only being borrowed. I promise to return everyone and everything back when I am done, but should DPB ever change his mind-I have dibs on Gibbs!)

The sun sank slowly behind the skyline.

Kate Todd was smiling as she hefted a bag of sandwiches and stepped onto the flagstone walk of Ducky's home. It was a surprise birthday party for Abby, and the good Doctor had volunteered his home.

True, an invitation to Ducky's meant spending time with his mother, whose dementia was both frustrating and puzzling. The woman's eyes were so full of challenge at any new person in her life, yet Kate had seen the intelligence there.

As she approached the front door, Doctor Mallard stood in the entrance, watching her with fond appreciation.

"Catlin, my dear, you should have let me meet you at the car." He chided, opening the door as she balanced the heavy parcel.

"Are you kidding, Ducky? I've carried heavier, and that's not including Tony!" she laughed, seeing her erstwhile partner behind him, sticking his tongue out at her. Handing him the bag, Kate embraced the older man as Tony snickered.

"Got one of those for me, Kate?" he waggled his eyebrows. Ducky shook his finger teasingly at him.

"Sorry, my boy, but you'll have to earn Caitlin's affections. The hard way."

Tony clutched his chest dramatically. "Duck, that hurts. What do I have to do?"

Ducky leaned closer to the younger man. "Age, my friend, age."

Kate laughed. "Good one, Ducky".

"Donald, what are all these people doing in our home?"

Tony stifled a sigh as Mrs. Mallard made her appearance.

"Mother, these are my friends from work, you remember Catlin and Anthony." Duck gently reminded her.

To their astonishment, a glint of recognition appeared on in her expression.

"I know you!" she pointed a finger at Tony with undisguised glee. "You're the gigolo!"

"Yes, Mrs. Mallard, Tony DiNozzo. I'm glad to see you." He smiled.

The older woman beamed, turning to gaze at Kate.

"You were here too, except, I don't know why."

"Yes, ma'am. How are you, Mrs. Mallard?" she said gently.

"Oh, as well as can be expected with that stranger skulking around." She fretted.

Ducky affectionately took his mother's arm. "Mother, it's time for your afternoon television show."

The old woman let herself be led away, protesting, "Donald, I like those two, but not the one with glasses! Don't trust him!"

Just then the doorbell rang, and Kate called to Ducky, "I'll get it, Tony, take the food into the kitchen, will you?"

Tony grumbled as Kate went to the door, thinking it was Gibbs. Instead a man in a delivery uniform was on the step, his head down.

"May I help you?" Kate asked, cracking open the door.

"Pickup from Doctor Donald Mallard." His voice was familiar. The man raised his head as Kate turned, "Ducky, are you …."

Abruptly a hand was over her mouth, another on her arm, yanking her forcefully out the door.

Instinctively she stomped on the man's foot, then used her free hand to drive her knuckles into her assailant's face. The man's hand dropped from her mouth, enabling her to yell "Tony!"

"Let go of her, now!" Tony appeared, gun in hand.

Pushing away from the man, Kate tried to shake his grip off her wrist. Instead, the man jerked her in front of him, his own weapon out.

"No, Tony. Put your gun down, Kate's coming with me. Unless of course, you don't want to see Gibbs again."

Tony gave a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, sure, you kidnapped Gibbs."

A smirk crossed the man's face. "Here, see for yourself. Kate, put your hand in my breast pocket.

Scowling, Kate did as he said, drawing out a cell phone that had a familiar number on the screen.

"Hand that to him, Kate." As she did so, she caught sight of Ducky's reflection in the wall mirror.

"Go ahead, hit the call button."

Tony did so, then heard a familiar voice. "Who is this?"

"Uh, boss, it's me, Tony. Are you all right?"

"Just peachy. Wait a minute, is he there?" Gibbs' tone turned hard.

"Yeah, boss. We're at Ducky's. We have kind of a stand off here." Tony refused to take his eyes off the other man.

"Gibbs, I'll be returning now, I'm bringing friends." The smirk was back. At once the senior agent's voice was heard, shouting, "You touch any of them, and I'll kill you!"

"I don't take orders from you, Gibbs." He closed the phone and shoved it nonchalantly in his pocket.

"Put the weapon down, Tony, and back away from the door. Otherwise I'll be forced to shoot you."

"Or I could shoot you." Tony remained calm.

"I don't think so, seeing that Dr. Mallard is right behind you, I could kill him." The muzzle of his gun raised slightly, and Tony reluctantly placed his gun on the step.

"It's all right, Tony." Kate stared at him, trying to let him know she'd get them out of this.

Slowly Tony backed up.

"All right, Kate, pull the door closed."

Obeying the gunman, she put her hand on the doorknob and took one more glance at Tony and Ducky. Ducky's eyes caught hers then she shifted her gaze to Tony.

"Don't worry." He mouthed.

As Kate closed the door, her captor stuck a small box on the knob then hustled her to a medical van parked in the drive.

As they approached the rear door of the van, it opened silently and he thrust her into a seat, then pulled her arms behind her and handcuffed her.

"You bastard, you won't…" Kate started, then was cut off by his placing tape over her mouth.

"Kate, you two will be nicer to me in more comfortable surroundings." Smiling, he slid the door shut, leaving her to struggle helplessly against the cuffs. A sound caused her to turn her head, and she saw a figure huddled on the floor, also handcuffed. Abby.

As the van screeched away from the house, upstairs the woman in the chair slumped down in defeat.


	2. Chapter 2

A moment after the door closed, Tony lunged forward to open the door, only for Ducky to slap his hand away.

"No, he's booby-trapped the door, Tony. See?" Ducky picked up an umbrella from a nearby rack then tossed it at the doorknob. As it touched the metal, sparks flew and Tony blanched.

"How did you, oh the mirror…." He realized, then the doctor nodded.

"I saw him lean toward the door….I wager that he's done the same to the back door, too."

Following the older man through the hall and kitchen, both men checked the rear doors and found they were magnetized also.

Using a rubber glove, Tony managed to jerk the door open and knock the device off, then ran to the front of the house in time to see the van turn to the left and disappear. Instantly he grabbed his keys then hollered at Ducky "Call Morrow, and the police, I'll call you!"

As he vaulted into his car and drove away, Ducky heard his mother wailing, then went back inside the house.

Mrs. Mallard stood at the top of the stairs, weeping. "I told you, told you he was not to be trusted!"

Sadly he shook his head. "Yes, mother, you told me, I should have listened to you."

As Tony drove, he scanned the road ahead for the commercial van, then got an idea. Pulling into a clump of trees by on the shoulder of the road, he waited, then saw the abductor's van pull out of the opposite side of the street and drive away.

"_Well, nerd, you can run but you can't hide_." He thought mirthlessly.

Inside the van, Kate tried to lean down and snag the tape off her mouth, then saw Abby lift her head off the floorboards. Kate saw she was gagged with tape also, and managed to signal with her head for Abby to move her way. The look of fear in Abby's eyes faded and she scooted herself to the foot of the seats. Kate managed to turn herself and by wriggling her fingers, caught the tape on her friend's mouth and slowly pulled it off.

"Kate, ….thanks." the younger woman panted, then getting on her knees, used her teeth to snag the adhesive from Kate's lips. Gasping, Kate nodded her thanks.

"Kate, he hit McGee, I don't know how bad, he hurt him." Abby was trying to keep her voice down, but the panic in her voice caused Kate to glance warningly towards the front of the van.

"Shh, Abby, it's all right. I'm sure Tim's okay. Where did he grab you?"

"Outside my apartment, Tim went to get the car, then **he **showed up and tried to pull me into his van, saying he wanted to take me out. I thought he was joking or something, and I joked back. You know, ha, ha, I like you but not that way, joking, but no…he was rough and when McGee saw him jerking me around…." Abby gulped.

"I understand." Kate tried to calm her. "Abby, he's taken Gibbs too, we've got to get loose and stop him before he hurts him, or us."

As if in answer to her words, the vehicle immediately swerved, then came to an abrupt stop. Both women tensed, then the panel door opened. Jimmy Palmer stood there.

"Kate, Abby…" the formerly shy assistant grinned. "Now I get to give the orders."

Pulling out his gun, he held it steadily on Kate, then reached in and grabbed Abby's right pigtail.

"Come on, Abby, you first."

Grumbling under her breath, Abby managed to slide out of the van, trying to avoid touching him, only for Palmer to take her arm roughly and pull her out of sight.

Mentally swearing at him, Kate furiously stretched and yanked at the cuffs holding her fast, then heard a noise at the back of the van.

"_Tony"_ she thought, then jumped at the sound of gunfire.


	3. Chapter 3

Gibbs flinched as he heard shots fired. He'd just worked loose from the handcuffs holding him to a chair, then he managed to stand upright, wincing at his stiff legs.

"Damn, I'm getting too old for this."

Going to the foot-high window in the wall of the dingy storage room, he peered outside and saw a figure run from the back of a white van, then disappear into the shadows. Suddenly he heard footsteps. Hiding behind the metal door, he waited until he saw the door open and a disheveled Abby pushed inside. Before Palmer could discover he was free, he slammed his body against the door, knocking their assailant onto the floor.

"How….?" Palmer rolled over on his back, then pulled his gun from his waistband and aimed it at Abby.

"Stay very still, Gibbs, or Ducky'll be weighing her liver." He threatened.

At once Gibbs froze, seeing the fear in the woman's eyes.

The lab assistant got up slowly, then exited backwards through the door, slamming it closed.

Gibbs exhaled, then reached down and gently lifted a shaking Abby off the cold floor.

"Gibbs, I'm sorry, I should have moved out of the way…" she sniffed, then the older man freed her from the handcuffs and took her hands in his.

"Abby, it's okay, you didn't do anything bad. Did he hurt you?" he asked worriedly, seeing a bruise on her cheek.

She started to shake her head, then she nodded, and Gibbs swore quietly as he hugged her. "It's all right, we'll get out of this. Tell me what happened?"

As Abby explained, Kate managed to stand and unwind herself from the seat, then she cautiously climbed out of the van and looked around, seeing she was in back of a rundown industrial building, discarded medical vans and trucks parked all around.

"You're a regular Houdini, Kate."

Whirling around, she saw Jimmy Palmer, winded but still holding his weapon, come out of the shadows.

"Yeah, and you're a real sleezeball. What's in this for you, Jimmy, control, proving you're a bigger man then Gibbs?" Kate's anger welled up in her.

Furious, the formerly meek lab assistant backhanded her, then seized her arm and propelled her toward the building. As they reached the entrance, she caught a glimpse of a man in the shadows, and she started to crumple.

"Oh, my stomach…." She groaned, and startled, Palmer let her go.

Instantly she lashed out with her legs, then before he could react, Tony launched himself at her captor. As both men fell to the ground, Kate got out of the way, then saw the gun on the ground and reached for it with her cuffed hands.

"No you don't!" Palmer wriggled loose from Tony's grip, then kicked him in the head, momentarily stunning him. He grabbed the gun and hit Kate in the face, then dragged her with him as he got up and ran into the building.

Tony staggered to his feet, then followed them in, only to lose them in the icy darkness.

Fumbling in his pockets, he pulled out a flashlight and followed a corridor, then stopped when he saw light under a door.

Trying the door, he found it locked, then pounded on it. "Hey, Gibbs, are you there, boss?"

Two voices answered him. "Tony!" , "DiNozzo!"

Pulling out a pick, he shined a light and unlocked the door, then pushed it open.

Blinking in the light, he saw Gibbs and Abby, who threw her arms around him. "Tony!"

Gibbs tried to look stern. "DiNozzo, what took you so long?"

"Little scuz called Palmer. We've got to find him, Boss, he's got Kate!"

Furious, Gibbs growled, "Come on, let's get him. Abby, stay close to us."

"Yes, sir!" she exclaimed, energized by being with them and her desire to pound the daylights out of Palmer.

Ahead of them, Kate struggled and fought with Palmer, trying to delay him until help arrived. Somewhere along the way the man had lost his glasses, so he was inadvertently headed back the way they had come in.

Frustrated, Palmer realized they were back in the entryway of the building, and he slammed Kate against the wall. "One more move by you and I'll set this off!" he gritted, showing her a small radio control.

Kate stared at it, "What, little Jimmy built himself a bomb, you're going to kill us all to prove what?"

"Myself, damn it, to you Kate and to Abby. I'm tired of being the doctor's stooge, of being made fun of by DiNozzo and threatened by McGee and patronized ….but you're paying attention to me now, aren't you, Kate?"

She forced herself to look him in the eyes, then smile. "Why, Jimmy, I guess I underestimated you. Maybe if you took off my handcuffs, we might go somewhere and talk..hmmm?"

An eerie, boyish grin lit his face. "Sure, Kate, turn around, I'll unlock them, here…"

He pulled the keys out of his pocket, then unlocked the one cuff. Kate took her free hand and put it under his chin. "Jimmy….."

He gazed into her eyes dreamily. "Yes, Kate?"

"Screw you!" she spat, driving her knee into his groin, then yanking herself away from him. As he howled in pain, she reached for his gun, only for him to grab at it, dropping his radio control to the ground. Instantly an explosion went off, and the building shook.

"No!" Kate yelled, seeing Palmer lunge for the box, and she socked him in the face, sending him unconscious to the ground. She picked up his gun and ran down the corridor, praying that she wasn't too late.

"Gibbs! Abby! Tony, answer me!" she called, only seeing dust and crumbled masonry

ahead. A faint "Kate" sounded back, then Tony yelled "get out of here, the place is coming down!"

"Not without Gibbs." She thought, doubling back.

Kate limped back to the entrance, seeing Palmer still unconscious. She went past him, only to feel a hand on her leg, yanking her backwards.

Taken by surprise, she stumbled and fell, only to find Palmer was on his feet. She raised his gun and pulled the trigger, only to find it was out of bullets.

"You think you're so smart, I'm not about to carry only one gun." The furious man stood over her, holding a 45'. He clicked the safety off. "Get up Kate, I still can get out of this, I only need one hostage."

"No, Palmer, you aren't going anywhere."

Kate smiled, relieved, as Gibbs stepped out of the shadows, Tony and Abby behind him.

Palmer didn't move. "No? I still have a gun, I still have Kate in my line of fire. You don't think I'll pull the trigger?"

He raised his weapon, then a shout came from behind him. "_Down, Kate!"_

A gun fired.


	4. Chapter 4

Stunned by the sudden concussion of noise, Kate held her breath as she lay face down on the concrete floor.

"Kate! Don't move."

Gibbs voice. His hands as he touched her, then as she opened her eyes, his gaze.

"I'm…I'm okay, Gibbs…" she managed, then saw Ducky, a relieved smile on his face.

"Ducky, did you….?"

"No, no, my dear. Timothy here was the secret weapon." He beamed, as a bruised and battered McGee came forward and helped Gibbs lift her to her feet.

"Thanks, Tim." Kate smiled, then laughed as Abby wrapped her arms around him. "Our hero!"

McGee turned red, "thanks, Abby."

"Yeah, McGee, good shot." Gibbs said gruffly, his attention now drawn to the wounded Palmer. Ducky airily waived the paramedics through as they lifted the now shackled prisoner and wheeled him through the knot of police and NCIS personnel.

Kate shivered involuntarily, then felt a coat placed around her shoulders.

"I want Duck to check you out, Kate. You look like you took a few."

Gibbs voice was rough, then Tony added, "Yeah, you did a good job on Palmer, though. I don't think he'll mess with a woman again."

Kate found herself blushing. "Thanks, Tony. But this was a team effort." She said, then looking at Ducky, added, "Our whole team."

"Well, hasn't our team forgotten something…?" Ducky asked brightly.

"Happy Birthday to you!" Abby beamed as Tony placed the candle-lit cake in front of her.

"Go ahead, Abbs, make a wish!" Gibbs tugged on her pigtail affectionately.

"Okay….." Abby shut her eyes, then blew all the candles out with one breath.

Kate led the cheers, then carried the cake to the kitchen where she and Mrs. Mallard carefully removed all the candles.

"Are you sure you have all the wax off the frosting, very bad, wax is for you." The older woman shook her finger at Kate.

"I'm sure, Mrs. Mallard. Now do you want some ice cream with your cake?" Kate felt a pang of affection for the woman, whose warning had gone unheeded.

"Yes, oh yes my dear." She beamed, then Ducky came into the kitchen and picked up the coffee pot.

"Come along, mother, mustn't monopolize Catlin." He smiled, contentment in his eyes.

As both women followed, Gibbs raised his eyes from watching Abby decipher Tony's card. He looked at Ducky and Mrs. Mallard, realizing his old friend knew he wasn't alone in caring about his mother anymore. Kate had already proposed coming and visiting once a week. He knew it would make a difference.

And Kate…. She was bruised and cut and worn out, but full of satisfaction in how she had refused to surrender to Palmer, stopped him from setting off all the explosives and getting away…

He'd learned something, besides having underestimated Palmer. And Tony's ingenuity.

His team would do anything for him, and each other.

"Gibbs?"

He started, realizing Kate had asked him something.

"Do you want some cake?"

He grinned. "Sure, Kate. But make sure it's not from where DiNozzo licked the icing."

Several sets of eyes turned toward the guilty party, who still had frosting on his finger.

He shrugged sheepishly. "It's good."

Fin


End file.
